A very solid option for AYCE KBBQ in UCity! I was craving for KBBQ after having it for my dad's bday, and wifey and I needed a date night idea. So why not eating way too much protein while our faces soak up that delicious grease and smoke? It turns out there are no reasons why not. The meat selection is pretty good for a spot that I didn't get the impression specializes in KBBQ - it was, after all, a hot pot spot first. But they've got your classics: LA galbi, bulgogi beef, thinly sliced fatty brisket, pork belly, spicy gochujang pork shoulder, you know what it is. But they also have some deep cuts: pork cheek and beef tongue! I think those are only available for dinner, but still. Delicious. They also have a good selection of seafood. Their marinated scallops and squid were a hit. I believe they also have mussels, shrimp, all the good stuff. One thing I wish they had more of was a wider variety of side dishes (banchan). They had radish kimchi and marinated cucumbers when I went, but cabbage kimchi was all out that day, and I just feel like one more little side dish would have made it perfect... like maybe some potato salad or the like. Because it's a hot pot joint, the sauce game is on point though. Plenty of sesame oil and soybean paste to slather your grilled goodies in. Plus, some vinegars, fresh herbs, other chili oils, and the like that would normally be used for hot pot. Mix and match to your delight. Drinks were varied and very reasonably priced. All the usual suspects from soju to sake. I'll come back with friends when bulking season comes around, for sure! read more

After watching too many shows featuring kbbq, I couldn't resist the urge to hit up LaTao to check out their AYCE hot pot + bbq game. As it turns out, they're pretty legit for a spot that's conveniently located right next to Penn. Compared to the other hot pot places I've been to, LaTao sets itself apart by offering more hot pot menu selections. Even the broth comes in 11 different flavors, and you can opt for 3 of them at once by ordering the Benz pot. For our table, we got Korean spicy broth along with Tom Yum broth and Mixed Mushroom and Rib broth. Out of these, the Korean spicy broth was my fave. I love that there are so many different choices of meat, veggies, and seafood to choose from but the shrimps were a bit smaller than I'd prefer. As for their grill section, there aren't as many meat options as some of the places I've been to, but the flavoring was pretty good. As others may have mentioned, their sauce bar and hot food/dessert buffet sections are pretty modest or nonexistent in comparison with those like KPOT, Chubby Cattle, and Kung Fu hot pot. If you're a stickler for these, you'll be disappointed by coming here. Service-wise, I felt like the entire place was run by students since it was pretty inconsistent and I felt like the wait staff were overworked. Some of the orders we placed also never arrived, but that's forgivable since we enjoyed the ones that did. Overall, I was pretty happy with the dining experience and wouldn't mind dining here again. read more

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Super excited to hear that University City has a hot pot place because I just live 20 mins away and absolutely love hot pot. I came with my boyfriend during Labor Day (note: holidays are dinner prices all day) and definitely left with a full stomach! They have an awesome selection of meats, seafood, and veggies. Although it did get a little busy after 6pm, the servers still managed to check in with the tables and made sure to put in my order. I love the self serve sauce section with a lot of options to choose from. If it's your first time they even have a sauce suggestion of different kinds of sauce you could make too! Behind the sauce bar is a fruit bar with (I'm assuming) seasonal fruits and some pickled veggies. Overall, a very fun dining experience and I would definitely be returning! read more

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Writing this review as more as a comment on their business practice than their food. The food was fine overall but I came here with 7 people and it was my birthday which means free birthday meal. It wasn't until the end of the meal that they informed us that the birthday meal is only free if you pay in cash. No where was this posted on their website or menu. My party had to scramble together to find cash enough to cover the entire check which include gratitude. I don't know if they realize people don't normally carry that much cash on a daily basis. Very annoying and will not come back read more

One of the only all you can eat hotpot in the university district area. They do offer many meat and vegetable varieties you can choose from. Quality is okay. read more

LaTao HotPot - All you can eat hot pot - Hot Pot Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Hot Pot and BBQ at table side?! Personally, I never been to a restaurant that offers both selections in one dining experience! It is also all you can eat (AYCE) for a reasonable price of $35/person (November 2024)! There is also an option of either hot pot OR bbq, and lunch and dinner prices! There is a 2 hour limit and a food wastage fee. My friend and I found that cooking both hot pot and bbq at the same time to be overstimulating at times, but so fun too! There many more hotpot options on the menu. From broths to meats to vegetables and seafood, you'll find your favorites! A sauce bar is nearly kept in the back of the restaurant! For the bbq, I highly recommend the marinated meats wrapped in lettuce! Some of the "steak" portions were tough, so I would skip that. Solid choices are the pork belly and spicy bulgogi. Service was friendly and quick. Clearing our empty plates and changing our bbq grill plate once it was sticky. Ambiance is chill. Lots of college kids in the area. They even have a separate coat rack to avoid smelling like dinner afterwards. After two hours, we cleared our plates and were so full. Would definitely come back again. tldr Food 4/5 Service 4/5 Ambiance 3.5/5 read more

LaTao HotPot - Hot Pot Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Large selection of both kbbq and hot pot, and really large hot pot bowls! LaTao is really the only hot pot place that isn't in Chinatown, so it's convenient for U-City. Their lunch prices don't apply on weekends. The most annoying part was that each table only has one hot pot heater and one kbbq grill. We only did hot pot and had a party of 5, and one person couldn't reach the soup at all without standing up and walking around the table, so someone else had to serve her the whole time. Portions of each item are small and it's hard to get ahold of the wait staff to order more, but overall was good. I wish there were more options for hot pot meats, especially because there is no thin sliced pork, and I feel like thick pieces of meat are weird in hotpot. However, I felt like the large selection of items added value. We thought that the broths were just okay, but the sauce bar with a wide selection added flavor. This isn't the most incredible hot pot I've ever had, but it wasn't bad for the value. I would come back if I had a craving for hot pot, but probably not all the time. read more

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Excellent food. So many options. All you can eat. We ordered so many weird bits, lots of protein. We have a similar taste and because I can order in Chinese we were served a lot faster than others and I really enjoyed the fatty beef, tripe, stomach, fish balls and crab. My friend does work with Wharton and had invited me over a few times over the years - I was working in the East coast so I was finally able to swing by. The best broth is the spicy one. I liked the bone broth one too. Very light. The selection for all you can eat is amazingly plentiful. The campus is beautiful. Now we are both headed back to San Francisco. I hope we can find a similar all you can eat hot pot place like this one by University City! read more

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Loved being able to do Hot Pot and BBQ at the same time! It was my first time trying both and I enjoyed all of the different meat and veggie options for both experiences, as well as an an awesome sauce bar with a variety of sides, oils, sauces and spices to add to your meal. The all you can eat experience was $35.99 per person and it's definitely worth the value! We were able to replenish whatever we needed which was helpful for a group of 3 that was sharing food. During the service, we were reminded that we would have to pay a take out fee if we didn't finish, however we had minimal food left once we were finished and were not charged an extra fee. Super convenient location with no trouble finding parking. Would recommend for those who are in need of a last-minute dinner idea or as a fun activity with friends! read more

LaTao hotpot, bad reviews! ? I came here today and found that there are many more dishes! Although the price has increased, there are new ones every time I come, and drinks are free! I heard that there are not many bad reviews, so I think it's okay! It's quite decent for hotpot. They also added live lobsters for $1.99 and smoothies The smoothies are not bad, they are big cups, and they don't taste like jam smoothies (I drank it too fast and forgot to take a picture) landmark of UMD, and I often come for parties It depends on personal opinion, I personally think it's not bad read more

Delicious! Prompt service, fresh ingredients and reasonable price for lunch We tried a few broth bases, Tom Yum, Spicy Szechuan, Miso, Mushroom and a variety of ingredients. Latao is clean & tidy. I didn't use the loos so I'll have to return for tasty food and check them out Hotpot warms on a cold day. read more

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Food 7/10 Great value, all you can eat hotpot. Do I feel great after? Not particularly. Each item for the hotpot had TINY servings, so we just had to keep on ordering. The broth had a really sad piece of bone with no marrow as the base. Everything just looked kind of sad. We got the hotpot kbbq combo all you can eat, and the meat was just super tough and sinewy for the kbbq. Also sucks that we have to cook it ourselves, but no matter how long or short we cooked the meat, it just tasted hard and almost unchewable. The shining light of the dinner were the flat glass noodles, love them always for hotpot. Atmosphere 6/10 Not the most ventilated, our seats were for some reason not stable so when my friend sat up our couch/seat pushed back?? Great vibey Chinese songs though. Service 4/10 They forgot some things we ordered, and again, did not provide any help with cooking the kbbq, which is a bummer. read more

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We shared three hotpot flavors - special rib, tomato, and chicken - and my favorite was the chicken: very flavorful and smooth, creamy without being overwhelming. While the inside was a bit overwhelming with the smells and heat, we thoroughly enjoyed our hotpot and left very full. Would highly recommend! read more

Amazing hotpot place, I go there every other week. Food selection is amazing and my girlfriend who is vegan says its her favorite place to eat at. Service is amazing as well. The food is soooo good, there is a wide variety of meat that is prime and amazing. 5/5 read more

Overall the experience was great. Many options and all you can eat. The broth was tasty and it's always fun to do it yourself. Had a lychee drink that was very good. Personally thought that the service could have been better. Not terrible but bare bones imo. Could have asked how it was or if we needed anything more often. The food felt fresh, would recommend. read more

LaTao HotPot - Meats - Hot Pot Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The best hotpot spot in Philadelphia hands down. This place has authentic flavors, reasonable prices, and is super efficient. We always opt for the tomato broth and their lamb has the right amount of fat to lean meat ratio. Tons of vegetable options aswell as yummy sides such as sausages, dried tofu, and fried squid. The sauce bar is pretty extensive and they give you directions if you don't know what combos work together. Definitely a must go to if you're craving some chinese hotpot and I'd honestly say it was pretty comparable to the hai di lao I had back in Irvine!! read more

LaTao HotPot - Hot Pot Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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It was worth the experience and something you should try at least once. If you are weird about sharing food it won't be for you. read more

LaTao HotPot - They give you a tablet to order everything, and we went crazy. - Hot Pot Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Food was plentiful it's all u can eat and it's fun! Service was great the only problem was they made a mistake on the bill and I was billed 3 times. It's always nerve racking waiting for the charge to wipe. But they told us and explained that they had backed it out and it will clear with in the week. When the soup is at a roaring boil it gets very warm in there. The customers are nice and it staff was sweet! read more

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This is a solid place for hotpot. They have great choices, delicious broths and a large display of sauces. Of course with hotpot, it's hard to remember everything we ordered, but the dumplings, the squid, the mushrooms and the tom yum broth were stand outs. The pot is kept full of broth as the servers walk around making sure there is enough as well as checking in for more orders of hotpot items. They serve alcohol as well! Try the peanut sauce, it's delicious!) read more

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perfect for vegan broth options, so delicious and flavorful. it's a bit noisy but it's popular so that makes sense

Really excellent AYCY hotpot and BBQ place. Went for hotpot and the food selection was really really good. If you're there on the weekend or dinner time, skip the regular beef and go straight for the Angus beef (not Angus steak though that's also good), it hits the right spot and I ended up having 5 servings. Soup base were good and service is top notch. Parking situation can be a little dicy but then it's Philly. read more

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AYCE hot pot! It's located in the heart of University City near Penn's campus, so the location is prime. It's also near a lot of dessert shops to eat after your meal. It's a little overpriced to pay for dinner AYCE, so I recommend coming during lunch for a much more reasonable price! Their meat and soup is delicious, and toppings are also great quality! read more

LaTao HotPot - Hot Pot Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Honestly such a great spot with outdoor dining experience for pandemic needs! Here's the scope: Yes, hotpot outdoors with gas grills (fire guards for wind). They try to warm up soup ahead of time as it does take a long while to start boiling. Ours took 45 min.. after soup was in front of us. Amazing selection of items for AYCE, love how they start with smaller portion of items and giving more during reorder, allows us to try new things and eat a selection. The soup bases are really good too, including a tom yum and special mushroom broth. Sad the live crab was on the menu included in dinner ($24.95) but they did not have it. Really good service and also offers a seafood boil like environment. Would have wanted to try it but did not see a combined option for order plus only have one stomach. I think the price is reasonable! The food is great and fresh with plenty of seafood options. Yum!! Beware of the tables outdoors as they have holes and so hot soup may drip on you if you're not careful. Ahh! I will definitely be back here!! read more

LaTao HotPot - Hot Pot Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Terrible service! I just walked out of this place with one of the worst experiences of dining out in Philly for 20 years. No wonder only 3-4 tables were occupied in this large space. Extremely rude staff, the server says "this isn't chik fil a!" "Then pay your bill!" It was first time here, I explained to two people it's my first time can you tell me how this works. This place charged me the price for an adult meal , for a kids hot pot. When I asked to clarify I was told you ate from that bowl so you pay adult meal price. Well, they weren't going to walk over me like that I dug in my heels and had them take the adult meal price off. Do not set foot in here. They give Asian restaurants a bad name. read more

$29.99 for all you can eat hotpot buffet dinner was decent. Servers came often to ask if we had any adds. We liked the fish fillets most. Veggies were fresh. No wait on Saturday night but most of the seats were occupie read more

Service is good. And they didn't even ask for tip after party service fee. Interior is fine. Seats have plenty of space. The food is not too good. But considering the price. It's def worth trying! read more

LaTao HotPot - Interior - Hot Pot Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Disappointing Food: do not order the spicy schezuan broth unless you want to sip on oil and bite into seeds of anise and cardamom. When they eventually refill your broth, it looks like they just add hot water not the original broth that you ordered. The beef and veggies that we ordered were okay. Service: I asked the server about the menu and the beer they had on draft, his response was "I don't know anything about that" every time. There was however another server, a girl that was very nice and accommodating. Ambiance: felt like a fun casual place to share a meal with friends or family. Overall, it was not worth the price for very seedy, oily soup and a facial from all the steam that comes up on your face. read more

Can't believe I haven't been here earlier! LaTao has easily become one of my favorite hot pot places in philly. Located in university city, LaTao offers both hot pot and bbq. Though I havent gotten a chance to try their bbq, I can say for sure that their hot pot is a MUST. The atmosphere has a more modern feel to it, plenty of seating, and its always packed so be prepared for a wait (it's worth though I promise). The have a huge selection for hot pot consisting of different meat, vegetables, tofu, noodles and seafood. The quality of their ingredients are great too! Personally loved the tomato ox tail broth and the mixed mushroom broth the best. Don't forget about the sauce bar where you can create your own sauce! My go to is: peanutb sauce, chili oil, garlic, sesame oil, and green onion :) If you're ever around the university city area, come check this place out! read more

LaTao HotPot - Hot Pot Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

I love the food at LaTao HotPot. My boyfriend and I go there all the time. They have wonderful service and the space is very relaxing. I eat a lot so it's perfect for me. It's delicious and a fair price for how much I eat. (I order like 7 different orders of meat for hotpot haha.) Highly HIGHLY recommend. Also, the menu on their website is wrong. read more

LaTao HotPot - BBQ menu - Hot Pot Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Excellent price for all the meats and veggies you can get. This is so convenient and close to campus, definitely come hungry and enjoy all the options! read more

I got the spicy and mushroom broth, the food was sub-par and the flavor was lacking, we got never got served without us having to stand up and walk to the servers. The meat was not worth the price, save the trip. :) read more

Amazing, authentic and affordable Korean bbq and hot pot. Highly recommended. All you can eat. Multiple choices of broth, meet, seafood and vegetables. read more

LaTao HotPot - Rib broth hot pot - Hot Pot Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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I love LaTao Hot Pot! For an all you can eat place, I think this has the best meat quality. It's definitely less in quality than Little Sheep or Chubby Cattle, but those places are not all you can eat and you can easily rack up a bill 2x at those places. I loved coming here as a student and came back even when I graduated. The dinner now costs $27.95/person for all you can eat, but they offer a 10% cash discount which is well worth it in my opinion. I love to get the fatty beef, but if you want some variety go for the fatty lamb or angus beef as well. Overall it's a very clean restaurant but the service is a bit slow - they're super busy so you might have to actively flag someone down. read more

LaTao HotPot - Hot Pot Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The place was nice but we didn't get to eat. We wanted the all you can eat hot pot and bbq. We were about to order when our waiter explained that you cannot change your soup base. That's crazy I'm my opinion. I'd like to try more than one and the other hot pot places I've been will gladly give you another soup base during your all you can eat meal. I don't think this is the hop spot for me. That's all I got! Oh yeah! I almost forgot, the seating is really cramped as well. There's no adjustment in the booth. It's about a foot of space between the table and booth where your feet go. I had to sit with my feet slanted sideways. I wasn't there long enough to get pictures. Sorry guys. read more

They have wide range of food selection and their service was fast, but the food quality was okay (was not outstandingly fresh). One thing I didn't like about was their food portion every time they bring out, it was too small so that I had to place several orders. In overall, I will suggest this place if you are looking for an "All-you-can-eat" hotpot place with an affordable price or a place you can hangout with a big group of people. read more

Feeling guilty for coming back two nights in a row but this time was with close friends! We got a larger table in the back and had the usual delicious broth and ingredients! I'm surprised but they've been out of things in my last couple times coming here (even with a year in between one visit and the most recent ones!) it usually is meat or lotus root! The only thing that surprised me this time was condensation coming from up above dripping down? It has never happened to me before but what with such a steamy room I suppose I should expect it! Water dripped on me not once nor twice but at least four times. Small each time but enough that I noticed and my partner had to brush it off my shoulder or arm. I'm a bit alarmed only because I don't want that in my food or drink but perhaps the location of the table at the back is why I only noticed now? Very odd. Doesn't affect me coming back but being wary not to sit there. read more

LaTao HotPot - Dual broth: one is tom yum, other special rib - Hot Pot Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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One of our favorite places to go! It's affordable, especially for all you can eat and delicious. My favorite is the Mixed Mushroom Rib and Shezhuan Hot Spicy broths. I only wish they gave you more food at once so we didn't have to constantly stop and order again. Servers are all nice and I love that they have a sauce bar unlike other hot pots I've tried in the city read more

Delicious place for all-you-can-eat hotpot. Their service is fast and friendly. I've been here at least 4 times and have never been disappointed! I think the prices are quite fair because you literally can order as much food as you want! I tend to come here when I'm feeling down and looking for something nice and warm to eat. The soup bases taste great and I've tried a variety of them but my favorite is the Szechuan Hot Spicy broth. I've actually had hotpot in Szechuan and I say the flavor is very similar! I always at least get beef slices, fish balls, frozen tofu, quail eggs and enoki mushrooms. For the DIY sauce, I keep it simple with peanut sauce and some spicy oil. Definitely experiment around when you come here though! The options are endless read more

This place was less then 10 mins from me so I decided to try it out. I came here a few years back, but don't recall the experience. We ordered the bone broth and tomato soup. The flavor was decent. Not the worst, but I definitely had better. This place is ayce and they serve alcohol. If you want to bring your own alcohol, I believe it's a $5 fee. I like how the portion size is small because I can try a variety of things on the menu. I would recommend this place if your craving hot pot and this is by your area! read more

I come here all the time! I'm so glad that they opened an all you can eat hot pot place in University City! I highly recommend coming for lunch because it's so much cheaper for the same menu. The only two things that I don't like is that the pork is more fatty than I would like, and they charge extra for rice cakes. However, I don't eat beef and I appreciate that they can do a vegetarian broth! Also, I like getting the triple broth! Aaaand we got a free beer since I posted this! read more

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